Anthrax and the Road to War

Something that stands out is the role he says the anthrax scare of 2001 played in the decision to go to war in Iraq.

The anthrax attacks in New York and Washington created a sense of vulnerability that was in many respects greater than the mass murder at the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Inside the administration, the October bioterror attacks had a larger impact than is generally appreciated—one in many ways bigger than 9/11. Without the anthrax attacks, Bush probably would not have invaded Iraq.

Said one person close to Bush, “It was the hard stare into the abyss.”

A cynic might wonder if it was part of the plan. Whatever became of the investigation into those anthrax attacks? Many leads seemed to point to government insiders. But the investigation never went anywhere. Why? Were they orchestrated by hawks within the government to push the nation toward war? I’m not normally one for conspiracy theories, but given the timing, given the state of the investigation into them, given the phoniness of the “evidence” that was used–I remain suspicious.